Cordova Sisters: Ethnic Studies Vaughn, New Mexico 1990’s
Because they were teaching Chicano history, sponsoring a Chicano student organization (MEChA), and asking students to challenge dominant narratives in their textbooks, Patsy and Nadine were fired from their high school teaching jobs in Vaughn New Mexico in February 1997. Seen as a threat to local agricultural interests, Vaughn Superintendent, Arthur Martinez, forbade the Cordova sisters from discussing Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Union, Dolores Huerta, the U.S. constitution, or Robert Kennedy. This unit explores understanding the historical context for MeChA and Chicana/o/x movements, the link between historical events and education decisions, and the roots of ethnic and gender studies towards creating multimodal projects that challenge the institutional repression of minoritized identity and socioeconomic equity.
Unit Lessons
- Write a letter to one of the Cordova sisters explaining your understanding of the events in 1997 and describe why their efforts to teach the histories of culturally, linguistically, politically, and socioeconomically minoritized groups are important in today’s classrooms and are meaningful to you.
- Enact a role play or debate setting, in which Superintendent Martinez’s claims of “anti-Americanism” and “racism” are presented and countered using references to primary sources, current examples in media, and intergroup-derived arguments. Create a multimodal presentation or provide a written analysis of the debate from both perspectives and statement about which side you agree with based on evidential support and explains what you learned.
- Analyze and/or critique the symbolism in Lalo Alcaraz’s “La Cucaracha” political cartoon, create your own multimodal representation with symbols you feel are meaningful, and provide a written explanation for your decisions.
- Re-write an article along with headlines that change the language in the articles from humiliation and scorn to dignity and respect.
- Describe your cultural identity from your perspective and how you believe your identity is under- or misrepresented in popular media, then create a slogan and a logo for an organization that more accurately represents your cultural and linguistic identity. Provide a written explanation for each of the images or symbols in your representation.
- Language: identify, analyze and critique historical and current expressions or slogans for mistranslated or misunderstood expressions when going from Spanish to English or English to Spanish.
Questions
- Compelling Question: Who has the power in education to determine and define what should be learned?
- Staging the Question: What does academic freedom look and feel like?
- Supporting Question 1: What did the administration assume about the lessons that the Cordova sisters were teaching about Chicana/o/x history?
- How would you build upon the teaching legacy of your favorite educator?
- How would you change the educational system to support teachers, students and administrators?
Supporting Question 2: How can education encourage, obscure or distort historical truths?
What is the difference between learning and indoctrination?
Supporting Question 3: Why is it important to learn culturally relevant place based history?
How has patriotism been used in the US to influence the retelling of history?
How does the story of the Cordova Sisters connect to current conversations about ethnic studies and cultural pride?
New Mexico Social Studies Standards
- 9-12.ECI.16. Assess how social policies and economic forces offer various identity groups privilege or systems inequity in accessing social, political, and economic opportunity regarding education, government, healthcare, industry, and law enforcement
- 9-12.ECI.18. Examine the impact of historical cultural, economic, political, religious, and social factors that resulted in unequal power relations among identity groups.
- 9-12.ECI.19. Examine the role of assimilation plays in the loss of cultural, ethnic, racial, and religious identities and language.
- 9-12.ECI.21. Investigate how identity groups and society address systemic inequity and transformational change through individual actions, individual champions, social movements, and local community, national and global advocacy.
- 9-12.ECI.22. Evaluate the role of racial social constructs in the structures and functions of 21st century U.S. society
